Guillain-Barré syndrome associated with cytomegalovirus infection.

Three cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome associated with serological evidence of active cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection are described. There are a variety of problems in establishing a causal role for cytomegalovirus in the development of the Guillain-Barré syndrome, the most important of which relates to the unequivocal demonstration of a primary infection preceding the condition. It is postulated that an immune-mediated mechanism probably plays an important role in pathogenesis whether it is associated with cytomegalovirus or other human herpesviruses.